Well lets see what the chose to do with their resources after this cancelation before we decide to crucify the guy. If the athletic department can show that their dollar will go farther (in charitable terms) doing project X instead of Y, then they should do it. I understand that cancelling this event brings negative light and casts him as cheap, but maybe more good comes out of this than we can see...

RR made some decisions that paralelle this one. You can state the case for RR making the wrong ones out of ignorance. DB he has been around for a while and we cant use the same excuse......so what gives? Greed?

My question is how can you turn your back on a communitee in a situation like that? Life isn't all about generating $$$$$$$$$$$$. That is something that MICHIGAN has stood for look at Motts.

“Any time Detroit scores more than 100 points and holds the other team below 100 points, they almost always win.” – Doug Collins

When on my long runs I play about 20 CCR songs on my ipod. Can't get enough CCR, great running music.

Very unhappy with UM's decision but am awaiting their response. I was shocked that it was canceled out right and not simply altered. But as another poster "staed", the BH is the attraction for a lot of the participants. I'd still do it if it ended elsewhere. I've been in the BH plenty of times.

I've been very critical of Brandon on this blog in the past, but we don't have any facts here other than The run has been discontinued (and perhaps that it was an athletic department decision). Automatically assuming that this is a money grab on the part of Brandon is ridiculous.

But, but, but we've heard from one side of the story! And it's from a CHARITY for God's sakes and everyone knows that Charity's are always honest, reputable, above-board and anything that's done that negatively impact Charities is almost like killing kittens. And everyone knows already that Dave Brandon is always a mean, money-grubbing SOB who thinks nothing of the people and only cares about lining the athletic department's pockets. What other facts do we need?

While I admit my cynicism is bottomless, I agree that we shouldn't be forming conclusions yet. We have to hear directly from Brandon or somebody in the AD with a better explanation than was alluded to in the BHBH letter. The PR clock is ticking.....

If you think the Athletic Director of one of the largest and most visible universities in the country would cancel a charity event because of his desire to "create the future" or any other self interested reason, you are a fucking idiot.

And... it turns out it was about private rentals, among other things (see the post below).

That partnership, Ablauf said, has become the department's priority. Ablauf said the run had become "a very challenging event... to fit into our stadium."

"We have our own private rental program, we're doing stuff with the special olympics and we have a lot of things we do now in the that stadium," Ablauf offered.

So in this thread, you've called one guy (who wasn't too far off from the truth) a "fucking idiot," constructed straw men for the majority of your arguments, and blindly suggested that this is probably about the charities being crooked. Nice.

From the way the quotes you used are worded, it looks more like it's about the partnership with the Special Olympics, and not having the same level of synergy with this event. I'm not sure that makes it primarily "about private rentals." So it seems you're doing the same thing he was.

I mean, Ablauf himself mentioned the private rentals first (before the Special Olympics).

Honestly, I'm sensitive to people who are quick to accuse charities of being corrupt (or argue that since some charity somewhere was corrupt once, none of them can be trusted). Having worked with a number of charities in Ann Arbor - and Chicago, Los Angeles, and other places - I've seen a lot of evidence of good intentions and no evidence of indiscretion.

To be fair, I'm probably taking it out on this guy a little more than I should.

Associate athletic director Dave Ablauf, who handles media and communication for the department, said the run no longer fit into the department's charitable mission.

"Really the decision in the end came down to our external focus," said Ablauf. The department announced last monththat it would begin partnering with the Special Olympics of Michigan for community service efforts. The first event of that partnership is the "Polar Plunge" at Michigan Stadium on February 23, 2013.

That partnership, Ablauf said, has become the department's priority. Ablauf said the run had become "a very challenging event... to fit into our stadium."

"We have our own private rental program, we're doing stuff with the special olympics and we have a lot of things we do now in the that stadium," Ablauf offered.

Maybe there was one or two charities supported by the run that the AD disagrees with now, for some sort of political reason? Does anyone have a list of what was supported by this?

For example - if the Boy Scouts were a recipient of money from the race, that might be viewed unfavorably by some in a city as liberal as A2 for their stance on homosexuals. There could be a situation like that where there is a charity involved that is a hot potato and that is the problem.

Many different charities used this as a fund raising vehicle, although the actual proceeds from entry fees when to I think 3 different major charities (Mott Hospital, Cardiovascular Center etc) so I think it's tough to say that it was one or two bad players from a charity standpoint.

Sounds like it was a financial/logistical issue with use of the stadium.

This is unfortunate - it was a great community builder. I was in charge of the pediatrics team for a couple years and got over 200 participants. Would love to know the full story of this.

One of the primary attractions of this race is to finish in the big house that it just wouldn't be the same if it finished on the streets of town or on campus. It would take a big hit in numbers if it didn't finish there.

CHC is NOT a charity. It is a business. They collect the race fees and also a percentage of the donations that are raised online through their portal. Although they allow charities to raise money for their own causes which is commendable. As a long-time runner -- 30+ years, CHC races are poorly organized and managed (the recent Iron Turkey had some "mishaps".). For those that track their times -- and I do, the BHBH course last year was short by about .2 mile. They are spinning this cancellation. And to schedule the Ann Arbor marathon in mid-June one week after the Dexter/AA run is a slap in the face to existing running events. Did they ask for input from runners when planning the marathon or designing the course? Who wants to run out by Briarwood for the most difficult part of a marathon with no shade?

The last BHBH run I ran with my iphone Nike+ GPS app. It ended at 2.95 miles. I thought at the time it was my GPS app malfunctioning as it did a lot during the early years of Nike+ GPS (it works great now, by the way). I guess it was the course that was short.

Sometimes you don't follow the chalk exactly as it was measured out. Sometimes a runner will cut corners. I've run in many 5k's over the years with a GPS watch and very rarely do they come out as exactly 3.11 miles. Every time that I ran the BHBH run, I've actually ran over the 3.11 miles that a 5k should be. I always attributed to to the fact that you had to weave through the thousands of participants. To me, the course was hilly and long, so I didn't really use it as a measure of my running ability. It was what I call a 'funrun,' done solely for the enjoyment of running through AA and finishing in Michigan stadium, running through the tunnel.

0.15 miles is a fair amount for cutting the tangent at curves. Well I run for time. For being that far off is inexcusable in my eyes as a runner. Fun runs are typically not awarding medals. Well this course definitely is not USATF certified.

the times that I ran this race, it was more like 3.2 for me. Of course, it does depend on your GPS and how accurate it is. I've brought this up with several race holders and they have all stated that their race is accurate and that the GPS is what is at fault...I don't know if that is true, though.